Images From The Coast

10-17 Feb 2015. Mossy Point, on Canberra’s coast, lies between the Tomaga River to the north and Candlagen Creek to the south. It’s mainly residential and is one of many small villages in the area. On the other side of Candlagen Creek is Broulee, one of the best beaches on the coast for surfing and boogie boarding.

Walking around the headland at Mossy Point,

we see an unexpected cross-country running race,

and a gathering of seagulls down where the fishermen come in.

Earlier in the day – rain. On the rose hips,

on the bottle brush,

on the wattle bird.

Surfing at Broulee Beach.

Crossing Candlagen Creek.

A visit to the Mossy Point Muffin Shop. Good muffins. Good coffee. But best of all: the lorikeets!

Mogo Zoo, a little inland from the coast. A small privately owned zoo that has had some success in breeding endangered species. We go to photograph of course. It’s a kind of mini safari: deer, giraffe, lemurs, gibbons, gorillas, zebra, tigers, lions and meerkats.

The meerkats are endlessly entertaining. Here they are all in a row looking up. What’s up there? What is that? It’s a plane flying overhead. They are captivated until the noise has gone.

Thank you so much Libby. I have a Panasonic DMC FZ1000. It has a built in 24-400ml lens. It’s great having a zoom although quality degrades a little at full zoom, also in low light. Otherwise I love it.
Alison

I have my third Panasonic DMC FZ camera with a 24x zoom now. I keep thinking I should acquire and learn to use a DSLR camera but I get good results with my much-easier Panasonic and obviously you do too!

My dream camera is the Sony full frame mirrorless camera with a zoom lens that either doesn’t exist or costs about $11 thou. In the mean time the Panasonic is pretty good. But I know I’ll never get the quality that you get with a full frame camera whether DSLR or mirrorless. Or the speed.
Alison

Alison, I love that picture of the meerkats! The curiosity is palpable. I am having fun imagining the synchronized dancing they surely did after the plane flew past, and also picturing their response to witnessing rocket launches, backfiring jeeps, and political speeches…

Chuckle. Thanks Michael. I too loved watching the meerkats. They are always playing, romping around. At the same time there is at all times a guard on duty who stands on hind legs, on the highest point he can find always alert for any danger. I was astonished at their reaction to the plane flying over. It must happen quite frequently, and yet I imagine they react the same way every time.
Alison

Thank you so much. Aren’t those lorikeets amazing?! We’ve seen plenty, and there’s a town in Queensland (Port Douglas) where they roost in the trees that go down the centre of the main street every night – hundreds of them, but this was the best chance I had to get some good photos of them.
We loved the meerkats – yes, plenty of character!
Alison

First I have to go to the wattle bird. He or she did not look happy about the rain. 🙂 I love the lorikeet that is eyeing you in hopes of more muffin, the giraffe with its mouth stuffed full of alfalfa, the mom and baby ape, and the trio of meercats. Great job Alison. –Curt

Thanks Curt. Had a lot of fun taking all these pics, and then choosing what to include in the post. The wattle bird was one of several that were flying around near the deck at the house we were visiting. I think they got a bit saturated! The lorikeet pic you mentioned is one of my favourites, maybe because it’s a little unconventional. And the reaction of the meerkats to the plane was astonishing. Glad I got to see that.
Alison

The meerkats are, of course, scene-stealers but ohhhh, those deer! I can almost feel how soft they are, and their sweet faces are precious. Can’t wait for photos from NZ, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I’d love to go back but will have to make do with your pictures for now!

Aren’t the meerkats wonderful! I agree – total scene stealers, but yes, the deer are so soft and beautiful. Such gentle creatures.
I’ve many stories from NZ, but the first post will be all photos of the endless beautiful scenery. One of the most beautiful places we’ve been to too.
Alison

That little running girl is very special! Lovely shots all around. I can’t believe the one of the giraffes! I wonder how long you had to wait to get that angle of the head appearing behind the other one. Unbelievable shot. And the three meerkats are definitely prize quality.

Thanks Helga. I’m so glad you noticed the little girl running! I was thrilled that I caught that shot. The giraffes were very entertaining! It was feeding time and they were all crowding in. They have great long ugly dark purple tongues! I took many photos, trying to find something coherent to photograph in the mellee of heads pushing into the alfalfa and jostling each other for position.There was a baby one as well but I didn’t really get a good shot of it – too much going on around it.
Those meerkats were also very entertaining – we laughed just watching them. And I was completely astonished at their reaction to the plane.
Alison

I think that wattle bird was a tad unhappy! Heavy rain, but then it got a good bath so maybe it was okay and it just looks that way anyway. I’ve seen meerkats in a couple of zoos now. I love them! they seem so thoroughly happy all the time.
Alison

Of course, all stunning again. For some strange reason, I like the one of the seagulls, pleasing somehow…soft. The lorikeets’ color is outrageous. The giraffes composition is so cool. The meerkats looking up makes you wonder—is it curiosity, is it fear? Love the shallow depth of field of the meerkat on the stump. All delicious, great way to start my day (which I promised myself would not begin by perusing blogs!! I am addicted, need an intervention. But as you see, I did have the will power to wait a few days).

Thanks badfish. I like the seagulls too (well of course otherwise it wouldn’t be in the post lol) – I like the gentleness of it, the presence and stillness of it – nothing loud shouting look at me. Lorikeets get me every time – yes, outrageous colour! I can hardly believe they’re real. And I feel the same about meerkats every time I see them – they’re like a big bundle of playful puppies. I think they were mostly curious about the noise. As soon as it stopped they went back to playing. And they always have a sentry on duty and he/she didn’t move during the overhead noise.
Ah, the blog habit. Pretty good huh?!
Alison

Thanks Kelly. So sorry to hear about your husband’s illness. Sending good vibes for his recovery. Glad to hear you enjoyed the post and that it brought you a little pleasure in a difficult time.
Alison ❤

Thanks Alison. My husband is now in the heart unit, which means he is improving. It’s been a hard 5 months with him facing multiple health issues and hospitalizations, but being in the hospital gives me the chance to see Grace in action through the many people who are caring for him.